Bratt Decor will launch their first ever European collection next week at Kind + Jugend. These pieces were designed by their head designer, Stephen Bauer, for the European market and will include both hardwood and wrought-iron pieces.

I am guilty of loving all things vintage. I love all sailor-y things. And if you ever saw the Popeye movie with Robin Williams- this looks like an outfit that baby, Sweet Pea would wear.

And if you made a mad dash when Gwen Stefani did her Mini Harajuku line at Target- maybe you scored this sailor dress too! Yes, I heart Target and Gwenny! (i really don't know her well enough to refer to her as Gwenny, I really don't know her at all actually...ha ha ha I wonder if her and I were friends, if I'd call her Gwenny!?)

THE SAILOR HAIR CLIP: with the anchor, I got at some costume place a long time ago. (It's totally the wrong shade of blue to go with the dress, but once I got it out, Ellie was in love and insisted on wearing it- well, for about 2 minutes anyways. The usual length of our "bow wearing".) But you could easily make one yourself, just get an anchor button, some ribbon and hair clip and your in bow-business.

BOOTS:I'll give you 2 guesses where I go these....(and it's not Old Navy)...Yes, I know, I know....but seriously I'm at Target all the time...I go to buy toilet paper and we come home with tp and polka dot boots!Ellie saw these and wanted to wear them in the store...she fell in love, boots now have a cozy home in her room.good news: These babies were on clearance!bad news: I don't know if they have any more for sale!

since putting this dress on Ellie...I sat outside with her and Blakey to type this...she is still cute, but her dress and her are both a lil' dirtier...guess we need to make an outfit change again! ha ha ha

and I wanna sing..."On the good ship, Lollipop"...

awww it'd be fun to live in the 30's or 40's for a day....anchors away, your kandee

The "My First Car" Cameleon3 by Viktor & Rolf for Bugaboo is now available for a limited time though Gilt Kids. This is the official release before it becomes available to the public next month in stores everywhere.

I love the store Anthropologie...I love just walking in the store and getting inspired.

And this little outfit kinda reminds of of Anthropologie!

SKIRT- We scored Ellie's little skirt at Target, on clearance for $5.

SWEATER-The sweater is a Target Treasure too- can't remember how much though- it didn't stick in my head like the $5 skirt-deal!

SHOES- Well, they are hand-me-downs from my sister's little girl, but they are silver gladiator sandals from Pediped.

HEADBAND- now get ready because you're gonna have a cute-attack when you go to their site, I don't know where you can buy the headband, but I just looked at the label and found their site- it's so cute you're gonna need to eat a cupcake or something- MUSTARD PIE

And that is our Ellie-Outfit-Of-The-Day!

big hugs from me and lil' hugs from Ellie, your kandee

PS. You can click here to see my other blog's awesome post-of-the-day. ORYou can CLICK HERE to see my new video- FAST 3 MINUTE MAKE-UP!

Bellini is having an awesome Labor Day Sale this weekend and next week. From August 31-September 9, you can take 20% off all Bellini brand furniture. There will also be many in-store promotions, which vary by Bellini store.

*the sole is all rubber (unlike lots of other kids sneakers at Target, that the sole is part rubber, and then part- this weird, almost fuzzy weird-coated material that is super slippery)

*and Alani said they are really comfy

BONUS: the first day she wore them to school she came home so excited because she said she got "like a million compliments" in them....even from boys she said! It's hard to get boys (and men) to give compliments!

See the power of compliments!

I also saw these babies on Target's website which are so cute- they did not have these cute leopard- stripe shoes at the store! (I don't know if these have rubber soles, since I only saw these online- they might have that afwul half-rubber-half-fuzzy-cheapo stuff on the soles- not sure!)

No, I don't own this bike. I just love it. I first discovered the Madsen bike when I was reading NieNie Dialogues (bt-dub...I love her and her blog)...and she had one and I was like, "what the hello kitty is that bike to haul all your kids and/or pets/and or anything- me luvs it!"It's a Madsen bike, and it's awesome!Why?You see that bucket in the back...you can put up to 4 kids in there- and yes they have seatbelts for each seat.Or if you lived near the beach you could haul beach chairs, a little cooler, towels, umbrellas...and a couple kids!Or you could haul your favorite pet too...

It comes in other colors, but if I were to get one, I think I'd get the pink or maybe this light aqua color.

Oh, man....if I was still a kid and had a Christmas wishlist....I'd put this bike on it. ha ha ha

Victoria Beckham Beckham and baby Harper were spotted leaving children's eatery and celebrity parent hotspot, Giggles & Hugs, this afternoon at the Century City mall. The restaurant has an indoor play place, an outdoor playground and a kids menu that includes breakfast.

some people seem to think blow dryers are just for drying your hair...but my lil' sidekick, Ellie...was smelling Alani's play blowdryer to see if it was scented! ha ha ha

this was her next to me as I wrote my kandeej blog this morning...

we both laughed so much after this...

she is such a flower of joy in my heart

she is now standing next to me patting my back and singing me a song that goes like this:"doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooodooooooo dooooodooooooooooooooooooooooooo" - while she twirls around and then runs into my back! ha ha ha(I'm typing on the floor)

Once again Babies R Us is holding one of their Great Trade-In events. From Friday, August 24 through Sunday, September 16 you will have the opportunity to trade-in any used car seats, bassinets, strollers, travel systems, play yards, high chairs, walkers, activity jumpers, swings, bouncers or entertainers in exchange for 25% off the purchase of any new baby item.

There is no limit on how many items you may trade-in and each item earns you a 25% off coupon.

Look at those lil' teeth!this photo was taken this morningbut yesterday, lil miss Ellie, officially turned 19 months old!ahhhh.... we're getting so close to 2!

My lil' baby loves babies too. Especially both arms full of babies!The one of the left is Alani's and the one on the right is her baby.(if anyone loves the stripey jammies, they're from Under The Nile , sooooo cozy wozy)

Even her serious face is adorable to me!Oh, I just love her little hands- her lil' hand holding her baby...awwww my mama heart just wants to explode with love!

I posted a picture on facebook of a hamburger cupcake...and my cousin, recreated it, gluten free, and chocolate!I am not only in love with these cupcakes, but the cute cowboy plate too! I asked where she got it, but they were a present from my aunt a long time ago! AND the best part:She left some on my kitchen counter for me to try, and they were delicious, super moist, and unless she told me, I never would have guessed they were sans- gluten! (and I've gone to bakeries with gluten-free cupcakes, and they were kinda not so good- but these were delish.

(this was me in a little bit of heaven, after I took a gigantron bite)

SO... HERE'S HOW SHE MADE EM':

CHOCOLATE GLUTEN FREE HAMBURGER CUPCAKES

GLUTEN FREE CUPCAKE BATTER:She used PAMELA'S GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE MIXThey also make a vanilla in case you want it to look like "lighter" hamburger buns! These might be the "rye" version! ha ha easy peezy- no huge list of ingredients just follow the bag instructions!

While cupcakes are cooling you can whip up this yummy frosting! After cupcakes are cool, you can remove the cupcake wrappers.

MY COUSIN'S YUMMY HAMBURGER CUPCAKE ICING:1/2 cup butter1/2 cup palm shortening1 tsp vanilla1 box of powdered sugar (not sure the exact size, but I'm guessing a smallish one- just until the texture looks right)a little salt until you like the tastea little Coconut Milk to smooth out the texture until it's how you like it

Mix until it's the dreamy icing texture you like!Divide into separate bowls for the "ketchup"- red, "mustard"- yellow, and "lettuce"- green and "pattie"- brown.Add a few drops of food coloring to each icing bowl, mix away.Cut the cupcakes in half and get ready to decorate however you like your hamburgers to look!Finish off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds for the "and a sesame seed bun" look!

These were so good- and moist and delicious I am actually wishing I had another plate full right now!

baking love, your kandee

PS. a huge thank you to my cousin, Adrienne who took the cutest picture of her super tasty and cute cupcakes so I could share it with you guys- Wish they had "taste-o-vision" for the internet- and for bringing some for me to eat! She's a great cousin!

Check out this cool new product from Joovy. The Caboose Too Rear Seat is a full-size rear seat that fits onto the back of your Caboose, Caboose Ultralight and Big Caboose strollers. It attaches to the back bench, transforming it into a full seat that can recline and be used for a child as young as 6 months old.

Smoothies are our fav breakfast!And since even Ellie (my healthnut, in training) loves them, I thought I'd share her favorite with you:

We will call it our: Toddler Baby Kid Friendly Ellie Loves It SmoothieAKA PURPLE SUPER SMOOTHIE (ha ha ha)*this recipe will make enough for 2 little smoothies and one for mama (Alani and Jordan already had breakfast and were at school when we made these!) WHAT YOU NEED:*I use all organic stuff, because I don't want to eat the bug sprays and not good stuff that's in conventional fruit & veggies. But you can use whatever you like. 1/2 cup frozen blueberries 1 cup So Delicious coconut milk (you can use regular milk if you like)1/2 So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Yogurt 1 scoop of Plant Fusion Vanilla Bean Protein Powder1 banana1 individual pack of Sambazon Frozen Acai(the regular one, not the unsweetened one- just one of the packs that come inside the bag- you get 4 in a bag)1 handful of baby or regular spinach2 large leaves of Lacinato Kale- it looks like this....

(it's "sweeter" than other types of kale- and loaded with nutrients-you can use as much as you want, but my kids start to make faces if I use more than this! ha ha)

BLEND IT ALL TOGETHER in a blender until it's smooth and a yummy purple color. There shouldn't be any green chunks or pieces, it should just be all smoothe ans a smoothie should be!I have a VitaMix which I love and use every day, it probably my most used kitchen tool!

And here's my Smoothie Fan, Blaker, who not only finished all his, but asked if he the extra left over in the blender!

And Ellie finished almost all her bottle full- we only use bottles for smoothies and water! ha ha ha

yummy breakfasts that are full of healthy goodness are a great way to start your day...

Bugaboo has released two new videos, demonstrating how to use the new Cameleon 3 stroller. The top video shows you how easy it it to fold and unfold the new stroller, while the second one shows how to release the wheels using the recognizable white buttons.

There is no better smell/feeling...than coming home to the smell of something yummy baking.So before it was time for my first and "eldest" (it's more fun to say eldest, than oldest...try it, you'll see.) to come home from school first....I got some cookies baking in the oven.

I wanted them to smell the yumminess, and feel the love that mama baked them something from her heart to welcome them home with.

Alani and her Hello Kitty backpack (we got it from VANS, but we really wish they had put some side pockets for water bottles).

As soon as everyone was safely back home from school...I asked how the first day went:Did they like their teacher/teachers?How were the kids?Any funny things happen?and the dreaded question...."any homework?"

THEN WE HEADED TO STAPLES-

Since Jordan, came home with his list of school supplies needed for each class.And I got excited at seeing the Martha Stewart Home Office Supplies...stick on chalkboard stickers, wipe off pen stickers, organizing trays oh my!

Ellie thought we needed a big pack of green packing peanuts...

Then my cousin invited us over for tacos for dinner. She has a beautiful house with a beautiful kitchen and a beautiful backyard...where we dined on our tacos, and she has a son (also my cousin-ha ha) that happens to be Jordan's good friend/cousin, too.

We walked around her garden, picked some carrots and went home with some garden picked onions and Alani and Blake left with some scooters that the bigger boys had outgrown!It was a great night.I haven't really felt up to being around people since my dad left this place, for heaven...but it was so nice to be around my family that I also have great memories of being with them and my dad, too.

We came home and made school lunches....this grape sandwich was made by Ellie. Weird, no one wanted it for lunch! ha ha ha

I filled Alani's heart with love and compliments after she told me about some kids who laughed at her when she fell. And how unkind that was of them and how sad they'd be if someone laughed at them. And that when other kids laugh or make fun of someone, it shows how little kindness they have in their heart, because someone full of love, would not make fun, but they would encourage and comfort others.

And today she will find a little note of love inside her lunch from mama...lunch notes of love and hugs, your kandee

As you may very well know, Suri Cruise has long been a fan of Little Giraffe blankets. She has been pictured with one ever since we first laid eyes on her in Vanity Fair some 6 years ago. Well that has not changed according to recent pictures. Here is Suri about to board a flight in NYC while mom Katie carries a Luxe Leopard Little Giraffe Blanket and Suri holds a Little G toy.

Last night was....the Night Before the First Day of School....And I wanted to make it as fun as I could.Soooo, I made BACK-TO-SCHOOL GOODIE BOXES.Which were a big hit. Even Jordan, my 15 year old, said they were awesome and thanked me for making things fun.

WHAT I DID:I went to World Market (a store with cool food, candies, decorations, toys, cooking things, gift wrap, all kinds of cool stuff from all over the world, that's really cool and not very expensive)...and got these cute little polka dot "take-out" style boxes...

while I was there I picked out some fun treats for the kids...nothing like, oh here's some school supplies, just fun treats like:Violet Crumble (an amazingly delicious candy from Nestle that you don't really see here in the US, except for places like World Market- it's seriously so incredibly delicious!)and...here's a peek into Jordan's BTSGB (back-to-school-goodie-box ha ha ha, that didn't even help, because I typed it out):

inside:BEEF JERKY MILK CHOCOLATE BAR (because he loves both of those)- he said, "I might even use the word decadent to describe how this tastes!"DIGI-CAMO DUCT TAPE - because he loves duct tape just as much as I do and I know he'll find a cool use for it.SPITFIRE SKATE TOOL- because he needed a skate tool. He was really excited I got him one!

Here is another picture of all the goodie boxes...just wanted them to be filled with fun lil' treasures of love and tasty-ness.Alani's had a girl-treat too:A BANANA CREAM OLD FASHIONED JUMBO LIP BALM- which we both love ALL of TREAT'S jumbo lip balms...Alani loved it!!!

We opened these after we had dinner- Sloppy Joe Chimichangas (it's my own creation- but is yummy!)...Then I made everyone's lunches...I hope Jordan likes his Curry Chicken Sandwich- I made his spice-say!Everyone got grapes and other stuff I won't bore you with typing about.

Earlier we went to In-N-Out and Blake made this face.His favorite, curl your lower lip down and make your tongue look like it's your upper lip- this is always good for a laugh, because it's funny that your tongue really can look like your upper lip! ha haAnd after we got Jordan's skate tool at the skate shop...Blake just put the stickers he got, on his shirt- not on anything you would normally put stickers on... and he just said, "my shirt doesn't have anything on it, so I put my stickers on it"

and Ellie made this face....ha ha haeven when she looks bored, I think she is adorable!...Alani is behind her in her In-N-Out hat.

We got jammies on, brushed and flossed teeth, picked outfits out for school...Alani will be wearing her fancy holiday dress...then we listened to the Heavenly Lullaby station on Pandora so everyone would get all cozy and relaxed.We all cozied on the bed so I could read them Good Night Moon (one of our favs)...tucked everyone in, sprinkled them with loving words and they all fell fast asleep...

and now we are off and ready for the first day of school year 2012-13....huge and goodie boxes, your kandee

Skip Hop has announced the introduction of its Hug & Hide Toy Collection, exclusively sold at Babies R Us. The activity gym is only available at select BRU stores but the rest of the collection is available at all BRU stores and on www.babiesrus.com. 5 pieces will be sold total, including the gym, activity mirror, chime ball, puppet pal and stroller toy.